Forgotten Memories
by darkbluecanvas
Summary: Morgan has a crush on Shawn, but he doesn't feel the same. He goes to New York with the gang, and leaves behind a heartbroken Morgan. Two years later the friends return to Philly for the holidays and drag Shawn along with them.
1. Morgan's Prelude to Heartbreak

**Title:** Forgotten Memories

**Author:** ME!

**Rating:** PG13 at the moment, but I reserve the right to bump it up to an R!

**Characters:** Morgan, Shawn, Eric, and the rest of the gang!

**Pairings:** Morgan/Shawn will be main couple, Corey/Topanga, with angsty implied Eric/Topanga.

**Summary:** Morgan has always had a crush on Shawn, and he's calmly understood it but never reciprocated her feelings. Shawn goes to New York with the gang (just like the in finale), and leaves behind a heartbroken Morgan. Two years later the friends return to Philly for the holidays and finally drag Shawn along with them. So, just what has been keeping him from coming home?

**Authors Notes:** Majority of the story is set two years after the end of Boy Meets World, but this first chapter is set while they are leaving. Chapters will be different viewpoints. If a paragraph is italicized, it means it's a flashback.

* * *

**Morgan's Prelude to Heartbreak**

It was the end of an era for me. Corey, Topanga, and Eric were moving to New York to start over. I was still going to be stuck here, in the not so posh suburb of Philadelphia that was my home. Mom and Dad were already ignoring me, thanks to my new little brother Joshua. All in all things were not looking good for me. At least _he_ wasn't leaving me…he'd still be here.

He's been my savior, my confidant. Every one of my important moments includes him. He was my first crush, kiss, and now love. But every part of our relationship, if you can call it that, has been hidden.

Three years ago he first discovered my feelings for him. At the time I was only thirteen, and he dismissed it as a "school girl crush". It was a horrible experience for me…probably would have been scarring if it hadn't been for his calm understanding.

"_He is going to love this outfit!" I squealed with delight as I smeared on blue eye shadow._

_When I was satisfied with my "grown up" appearance, I dramatically waltzed down the stairs. Shawn was sitting on the couch aimlessly flipping through the channels. My mom had arranged for him to drop me off at the movies on his way to the mall. Normally she would ask Corey or Eric to take me, but they were both busy, and she was going out with dad._

"_Hey Morg, ya almost ready to go?" He tossed over his shoulder, not realizing I was already waiting for him._

_I inhaled deeply, it was now or never, and walked in front of him. His brow wrinkled in confusion._

"_Do you like?" I twirled around. "I was kind of hoping you'd go to the movies with me."_

_Just then the proverbial light bulb flickered on inside his head, and he realized what I was trying to do._

"_Um…Morgan, I'm flattered. I really am, but you...you're," He stammered a bit. "I'm too old for you."_

_I could feel myself breaking at that exact moment. Tears flooded my face and I was losing the ability to breath. So I ran up the stairs and locked myself in my room. I could hear him coming up the steps, taking them two at a time. He knocked gently, but when I didn't answer he banged a little louder._

"_Morg, can we talk?"_

"_Go away!"_

"_Come on...look it's important okay? I need to talk to you. Please?" His voice softened when he reached his final plea._

_My resolve weakened, and I opened the door before retreating to my bed. He stepped into my pink paradise and closed the door behind him. I felt the space next to me slump, and I knew he had sat down beside me._

"_Morgan…I'm sorry, I really am." He whispered as he rubbed my head. "But you don't want to be with me. I'm old…practically ancient compared to you."_

_I couldn't help but smile at his weak attempt at humor._

"_There's my girl…" He grinned back. "You know you're going to have guys beating down the door trying to get a date with you."_

"_Yeah right." I huffed._

"_Oh you will…and then you'll have Corey running around the house paranoid, acting like he's your father. Then Eric will try to interrogate all your dates…I wouldn't be surprised if those two made the guys fill out applications."_

_I sniffled a bit; he didn't seem to realize he was the only guy I wanted._

"_So, still up for that movie?"_

"_I think I'd rather stay home…" I murmured, pulling the blanket up._

"_Alright, but I'm not going to leave you home alone. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."_

_He leaned forward slowly, as if he was about to reconsider, before he pressed his lips against mine in a chaste kiss. He smiled, ran his hand through his hair, and stood up to leave._

"_Shawn?" I called out, my hands unconsciously touching my lips._

"_Yeah?"_

"_You aren't going to say anything about this to anyone, are you?" My voice quivered involuntarily._

"_It'll be our little secret." He winked. "I'll tell your folks that you didn't feel well, okay?"_

_I nodded, as he turned and left._

I calmly watched as everyone said their goodbyes, sometimes they even acknowledged my presence. Corey and Shawn finally stood before each other, and poured out their hearts. As they finished they exchanged a hug, and quickly wiped away any tears. Then Topanga threw a tan duffle bag at Shawn. I knew that bag, it was his. My world crumbled.

"I'm going with you?" Shawn looked back and forth between Corey and Topanga.

Shawn jumped for joy with Corey joining in, while I tried not to curse _that_ woman into hell.

I hated her more at this exact moment than I ever had before. More than when she kissed Shawn in that college video—which yes, I did see, thanks to Corey's decision to get a second opinion at 3 in the morning. I loathed her more than when she made me wear that hideous bridesmaids "dress". I would never have thought it possible, but at that precise second I despised her more than Angela, the woman who broke Shawn's heart.

In the midst of my stewing everyone had finished saying goodbye, and were moving outside. I looked up, and caught Shawn glance at me and smile. I tried to catch up to him, but by the time I was in the driveway, he was already gone.


	2. Early Christmas Present

**Authors Notes: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm sorry this took so long to post…hopefully it won't disappoint. I know it's short…but I wanted to get this up…plus I didn't want anything else in this chapter. Slowly…things must progress slowly!

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**Early Christmas Present  
**

"Come on Shawn! Christmas is in a week…you have to come home with us!" Corey exclaimed.

Shawn looked at the expectant looks on the faces of his friends. They decided enough was enough, he had to come home this year. He had stayed behind every other occasion, and it was time for him to see the city of brotherly love once more.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, you guys don't want to leave your apartment unattended right? What if your fish dies?"

"Shawn, it's a goldfish…it was fifty cents, I think we'll move on." Topanga replied.

"Fine, I'll go pack." Shawn huffed and left the apartment, making the long trek four rooms down.

He entered his apartment and fell onto the couch. There was no reason for him to dread going home. It's not like something bad would happen. His thoughts immediately jumped to Morgan, and he groaned. She couldn't possibly still have that crush on him could she? Was that why he hadn't gone back in nearly two years?

A knock at the door broke him from his reverie. Shawn threw himself off the couch and answered the door. Eric stood there with a smile.

"Hey Shawn!" He shouldered his way inside. "I hear you're finally coming home with us."

"Yeah, Corey got to me…"

"I figured as much. So, um, look…I know why you haven't gone back with us before." Eric sat down on the coffee table.

"And why is that?" Shawn's interests were peaked, so he decided to humor Eric and his latest off the wall idea.

"It's because of Morgan."

Shawn's heart stopped for a moment, and a lump formed in his throat.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Let's just say it's amazing what you learn when everyone assumes you're stupid."

Shawn was completely speechless. Eric grinned, stood up, and patted Shawn on the shoulder.

"Be ready to leave in 20 minutes…"

Whatever Shawn had anticipated leaving Eric's lips that _definitely_ was not it. He figured Eric would assume he didn't want to return home because of memories of Angela. That's what everyone else always seemed to think. That the reason he was secluded himself, his motivation for staying hidden in New York was a girl that walked out on him two years ago. If they only knew…

* * *

Morgan sighed as she cleaned up her room. Everyone was coming tonight, well almost everyone. She had grown to accept the fact that Shawn was avoiding her. The first Christmas after they left for New York was nearly traumatizing when Corey, Eric, and Topanga came skipping into the living room…without him.

A ringing phone snapped her from her reverie, and upon looking at the caller ID she snatched it up.

"Hello?" She asked cautiously.

"MORGAN!" Eric nearly yelled into the phone.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Hey Eric, what's going on?"

"Not much, just calling to let you all know we're on our way home. Just about 30 minutes away."

"You aren't driving are you? Because I would appreciate it if you got my brother and sister in law home safely." She joked.

"Oh no, Shawn's driving."

She froze, if this was some sort of a sick prank she'd stab Eric in the forehead.

"Um, excuse me?" Morgan could practically feel Eric's grin on the other end of the phone.

"You heard me Morg…Shawn's driving. Meaning, he's coming home for Christmas…meaning th"

"Eric, SHUT UP!"

"I was just going to say that Mom needs to set another place at the dinner table. Geez, what did you think I was implying?"

Morgan could picture the smirk gracing his features, and the playful twinkle shining in his eyes.

"I'm going to kill you one of these days, but until then…"

"Love ya Morg!" Eric said while hanging up.

* * *

"Um….so how's Morgan?" Shawn asked awkwardly, glancing at Eric who sat beside him in the car. Corey's curly head was visible two cars ahead of them.

"Just great actually. But next time, why don't you ask her yourself…okay Casanova?"

* * *

Morgan, at some point after Eric hung up the phone, had fallen on her bed. Her spread out form crinkled the sheets she had worked to straighten, and she carelessly knocked a few pillows off the bed. He was coming home. Shawn was actually coming home. 


	3. Facing His Fear

**Author's Notes: I know some reviewers felt that Eric was out of character. Honestly at the end of the series, he was a completely different character than he was at the start, without an explanation. So I provided you one, obviously it wasn't very good…but I've always felt Eric was under appreciated anyway. Feeny always said he had the ability to do well, he just didn't try hard enough.

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**

"We're hoooooooooome!" Eric yelled as he threw open the kitchen door.

"Eric, honey." His mom caught him in a hug.

The rest of his travel companions entered after him. Mrs. Matthew's of course, greeted them each with a similar vigor.

"Oh Shawn, I'm so glad you came back. It's just not the same without you."

He looked at the ground and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah I've been hearing a lot of that lately."

"Mom, where's Morgan? I want to say hello to my favorite sister." Corey chimed in.

He obviously had no idea that had been the question Shawn was dying to ask.

"I think she's still upstairs…" A pot boiled over on the stove, and she was instantly distracted.

"Let me help." Topanga replied, going into full housewife mode.

Eric and Corey went into the living room to greet their father, leaving Shawn standing awkwardly in the kitchen. He tried to help the women with their cooking, but only managed to anger Topanga. He sat down at the kitchen table and thumbed through the paper.

"Shawn, will you do me a favor?" Mrs. Matthews asked.

"Sure." He replied, hoping to be useful.

"Go make sure Morgan's ready for dinner?"

"I'm on it." He said with a smile.

* * *

He climbed the steps slowly, not completely sure he was ready to face her. A school girl crush was one thing, but he hadn't seen in her two years. He had no idea how she would treat him, or how he would react to seeing her. He reached her open doorway sooner than he thought. He was shocked by the image that he received.

Morgan had obviously matured. She had curves in places he had never looked before. Her blonde hair was swept off her neck in a sloppy bun. She was curled up in a chair reading Romeo and Juliet. Morgan flipped to another page.

"Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to say hello?" She questioned without removing her eyes from the book.

"Hey." Shawn supplied lamely.

Morgan rolled her eyes, and dropped the book on her desk. Shawn walked into her room uncomfortably, remembering the last time they were alone in here. He pointed at the book she had just thrown.

"Romeo and Juliet, huh? What do you know about heartbreak?"

"More than you'd think." She responded coldly.

"Ouch." Shawn thought to himself. "Maybe this is about more than a crush."

"Is there a reason you're in my room?" She asked, walking towards him.

"Uh…um…" He stumbled over his words as she got closer.

"What's the matter Shawn?" She inquired with a grin.

"Dinner. That's it. Dinner's ready." He finally remembered, and took a step back from her.

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**Sorry this is so short, but I wanted to give you an update! Thank you to those who have reviewed, it really means a lot to me.**


	4. She Smiled

**Author's Notes: I know it's been forever, and if I have any readers left, I LOVE YOU! I just tend to get writer's block like a crazy person. Anyway, I stayed up until 5 AM writing this out, because you deserve an update, it's not much, but it's something. Hopefully your reviews will further inspire me!**

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"Oh, and here I was expecting a 'Nice to see ya Morgan!', 'Sorry I haven't talked to you in two years.', 'How's life for ya Morg?' Guys are all the same." She grabbed her copy of Romeo and Juliet and smacked it against his chest. "You used to be different." 

Shawn just stood there for a few moments after Morgan had left; her copy of Shakespeare's well known play still in his hand. He sighed and took a good look at her room for the first time. The theme was no longer pink, as a matter of fact; she had painted her walls black. Not that it was easy to tell with all the posters of what he could only assume to be metal bands adorning the walls. Time had changed, he realized as he rubbed at the facial hair he still wasn't used to, and so had he.

* * *

The last Hunter child finally made his way down to the dinner table, not that anyone had waited for him to begin eating. Alan and Cory were debating the probability of their favorite football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, making it to the Super Bowl that year. Eric was sitting beside Morgan, obviously pestering her about something. Topanga and Amy were giving Joshua more attention than he could ever possibly need. Shawn headed for the only available seat, the one directly across from Morgan. Before he got there, Eric grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him over to the counter. The older man feigned getting more food in order to talk to his friend.

"You can't let her get away."

"What are you talking about?" Shawn was still in complete denial, a place he was quite comfortable.

"Everyone always underestimates me, but just listen this one time. If you don't tell her how you feel, she'll end up with someone else. Believe me, I know." Eric's normally cheerful voice was tired.

Shawn was expecting a story about Rachel, but was instead shocked when he followed Eric's eyes to Topanga. He saw the pain course over the other man's features, and just as quickly a smile replaced it.

"Hey Panga, you plan on popping out a baby any time soon?" Eric inquired innocently as he ruffled his little brother's hair.

"Baby? What, no!" Cory exclaimed, the thought of actually having a settled life scared him. "Topanga, I see the look on your face…no."

"But I-"

"Nooooo." Cory whined.

Morgan rolled her eyes, Cory could be such a, well for lack of a better term, _baby_. She had always wanted Topanga to end up with Eric, it wasn't a sentiment she advertised frequently, but Eric was so much more deserving of happiness. She sighed, tired of pretending to enjoy the reunion. Half hearted smiles, attempts at conversation, pushing her food around on her plate, it all bored her. She stood up and picked up her plate just as Shawn sat down.

"Glad to know I'm so popular." He mumbled.

Morgan had to walk past him to put her plate in the dishwasher. She smacked the back of his head for the comment he didn't realize she heard.

"Glad to know you're still conceited."

* * *

The night dragged on, but eventually everyone departed to their designated sleeping quarters. Alan, Amy, and Joshua spent the night together in the master bedroom. Topanga and Cory took his old room; Eric volunteered to sleep on the couch, which left Shawn. Amy had oh so thoughtfully dug out an inflatable mattress and deposited it into her only daughter's room. She felt a little funny about letting a 23 year old man sleep in the same room as her nearly 18 year old daughter, but shook the feeling away, remembering it was Shawn. Nothing would happen.

"Don't snore, don't complain about my music, don't act like you know me, and maybe we can both survive the next two weeks." Morgan detailed her instructions from her position on her bed.

"I don't snore, I love all kinds of music, and you're right, I don't know you anymore." Shawn replied honestly. "But I was kinda hoping to change that last one.

"Cory says he loves all music, but when he heard my band's demo he freaked out. Said he didn't want his ears bleeding…my parents think I'm satanic or something just because of how I express myself. People don't understand, and you won't either." Her arms were folded and she had a determined look on her face, as if she was anticipating rejection.

"Try me." He replied with his patented half smile which nearly melted Morgan's cold hearted façade.

She didn't say anything at first, just huffed and clicked on her computer for a few moments. The music that came streaming out of the speakers was nothing like he expected. It started out with a smooth feminine voice singing faintly, but quickly turned into a blend of guttural screaming, thumping bass, and erratic drum playing. Shawn listened closely, the lyrics weren't half bad, and though he wasn't quite used to this amount of screaming, the sound resembled the bands he had always loved. The song came to an end, and Morgan stopped the CD.

"Not bad really, wasn't quite expecting that, but it's good. The screaming takes away from the lyrics at some points, but overall I like the feel of it. Your bass player is a little off, and you can barely hear the guitar over the drums."

Morgan eyed him suspiciously for a moment or two, before responding.

"I _am_ the bassist, and I'm _not_ off. I'm stuck with a shitty secondhand instrument cause my loving parents think music is a waste of time. My drummer is a replacement who thinks he's the shit cause he can cover Guns & Roses, but the last guy had to leave after his parents found pot in his bookbag."

"Well I imagine a jackass is better than a stoner, atleast the music gets emotion this way."

Morgan continued on as if he hadn't spoken, "The chick who plays guitar is my best friend, but she's got really Christian parents who still think rock music is a sign of the devil, so naturally she doesn't have the best amp at this point. As for lyrics, you're looking at the writer, and lead singer."

"Busy woman."

"Don't forget it either." She smiled a genuine smile for him.

He almost fell over from pure euphoria; he got a smile out of her. Now why was that giving him such pleasure? Oh God…Eric couldn't possibly be right, could he!


End file.
